The semiconductor choke-point

Taiwan and its semiconductor industry are one of the biggest choke-points in the world economy. Everything from phones to artificial intelligence (AI) models relies on the chips that Taiwan excels at making. Yet the island, which is self-governing but claimed by China, would be at the heart of any Sino-American war. Its chip fabrication plants (fabs) could be destroyed or their output embargoed, with huge knock-on effects across the planet. This danger explains why America, China, Japan and others have been subsidising the production of chips elsewhere.